Judge Won`t Block Enforcement Of Drunken-driving Law

A federal judge on Monday refused to block enforcement of a new state law permitting police at roadside to immediately suspend the licenses of suspected drunken drivers.

But U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno did issue a temporary injunction against a regulation that forbids drunken-driving defendants from making disparaging remarks or even disapproving facial expressions during license suspension hearings.

Attorneys hired by the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the constitutionality of the state`s new drunken-driving law, which took effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday.

A full hearing on the law has been set for Oct. 9 in Miami before Moreno.

Miami attorney Steven Baird asked Moreno to declare at least two aspects of the law unconstitutional. He argued that the state rule governing disparaging remarks by defendants was a violation of the First Amendment right of freedom of speech.

And he argued that giving police officers authority to temporarily suspend driver`s licenses was a violation of the Constitution`s due process protections. The attorney said drivers deserve an impartial hearing before losing their licenses.

Under the new law, suspected drunken drivers who refuse to take breath or urine tests can have their licenses immediately suspended for a year by police officers on the scene.

Licenses also can be suspended at roadside if drivers test .10 or higher in blood-alcohol content exams. In Florida, .10 is the blood-alcohol level at which a person is considered legally drunk.

Under the law, drivers whose licenses have been suspended will be issued seven-day driving permits and must file an appeal to have a suspension rescinded.

Rather than appealing to a county judge, the new law establishes a statewide bureaucracy of 36 hearing officers to handle the suspension cases. The officers have up to 30 days to hear an appeal or order a license reinstated.

In Broward County, two state hearing officers will be assigned to handle the estimated 50 to 100 drunken-driving cases prosecuted each week. The high volume of cases in Broward raises the possibility that most drunken-driving appeals will not be heard until after the temporary seven-day driving permit has expired.

Lawyers say this suggests that drivers will be punished prior to ever having a hearing in court.

Ed Birk, spokesman for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said he was confident the new law would be upheld as constitutional in federal court.